Brassiere.



C. MAYER. BRASS'IERE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1914.

Patented J an. 18, 1916.

mk' W FlCE;

CLARENCE MA'YER, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGOR TO NATURES RIVAL COMPANY, v0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,A CORCPQRTIGN 0F ILLINOIS.

BnassIi-inn.

Specieation of Letters Patent.

Patented dan. it', initd.,

appiication mea June io, i914. serial nantaise.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that l, CLARENCE Magnan, a citizen of the United States, and af resident of Chicago, in the county of. Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Brassires; and I do Ihereby declare that the following is a full, clear, "and exact` description thereof, reference being. had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which forma'part of this or cup-shaped elastic bust sections may be made from elastic strips or webbing of com- 4mercial widths, so as to therebyavoid the use of special machinery or appliances for producing such bust sections. j

A further object of the invention is to reduce the cost of the garment.

A still further object. of the invention is to provide va novel method of joining or stitching together the elastic strips in such` manner as to enhance the elasticity of the resultant bust sections.

A bust supporting and reducing section or brassire embodying my invention is made up of a plurality of elastic strips which are joined together at their'marginal portions, preferably in overlapped relation,

by4 stitches extending through the overlapped .portions thereof, -and are fashioned and assembled in such manner that in-their assemblage they form a cup-shaped section of desired contour.

lln accordance with'my novel method of joining the strips when making up-the bust section, the said strips are laidk one upon'the other in overlapping relation at their marginal portions in .proper fashioned assemblage to produce the resultant `cup-shaped section., and the joining stitches are passed through the said overlapped portions to give permanence tothe finished bust section. ln Aorder to increase the stretching qualities of the made-up bust section, the strips composing the saine may be longitudinally stretched during the time that they are stitched together so that, upon subsequent contraction of the joined strips to normal length due to their elastic qualities, the through stitches are closed upon each other and are somewhat loosened.in the fabric, whereby the fabric may be stretched in the direction of the length ofthe strips without being limited by the stitches and without imposing undue tension upon the thread. When the stitches are applied to the overlapped strips in their normal or nonstretched condition, the bust sections composed of united strips may be stretched in the direction of .the length of the strips to a limited extent (which in some instances is suiicient for practical use) inasmuch as the stretching of the .fabric mrves to decrease the thickness thereof and to thereby edeot a loosening of the stitches to such extent as to perinit elongation thereof.

In the drawings Figure l illustrates a brassire embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of one of the bust sections, with 4 fragmentary portions of associated parts of the garment. Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof. Fig. 4 illustrates the manner of closing a front opening brassire. Fig. 5 is an enlarged diagrammatic view of two joined elastic stripsillustrating the same when longitudinally stretched. Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of the parts shown in Fig. 5 when the elastic strips assume their normal length.

As shown in the drawings, 10, 10 'designate the bust sections, 1l the back or connecting i band.. and 12, 12 the shoulder straps of a brassire of a generally known type. As herein shown, the brassire is adapted to be )opened in front, but the invention is adaptable to garments which open in the back.

Each of the bust sections is composed of a plurality of horizontally 'arranged elastic strips la, which are assembled in overlapping relation at their marginal portions, and are joined by lines of stitching 15 sewed through said overlapping portions. lln the present instance, the strips are of uniform width such as may be cut from an elastic web. The said strips are stitched at their inner ends to the back or body band il and at their outer ends to binding braids 16 which constitute the free margins of the bust sections, said braids carrying the fag iio devices, as hooks 4 and eyes herein shown, when the brasslere is opened 1n the front.

In assembling the strips to produce the,

bust section, when so made of uniform width, the bust section is fashioned to produce the desired -cup-like contour by variably overlapping the strips at their margi.- nal portions from end to end of the strips, as Will clearly appear from an inspection of Fig. 2. As shown in the said -igure thev overlapping of the stripsV increases from the intermediate portions thereof toward each end, the marginal overlappingr of the strips being reatest at the inner.y or rear edges of the ust sections. The particular extent of the. marginal overlap between adjoining strips, from end to end thereof, varies according to the particular contour of the bust section desired.

In order to increasethe capacity of the bust sections to'stretch ina direction length- Wise of the strips, the elastic'strips mayl be stretched while being stitched together.

' Thus Fig. 5 may diagrammatically illustrate the strips and stitches so stretched while being stitched together, while Fig. 6

may illustrate the strips and'stitche's after the strips have resumed their normal length' under their own elasticity. It will be noted in Fig. 6 that the stitches are closed toward each other so that they are not as taut as in Fig'. 5 and that said stitches are, therefore, free to stretch or elongate with the stretching fabric to approximately the length of the ori inal stitches. If the strips be stitched to et er when unstretched, Vthe reduction loft ickness of the fabric due to stretching the same will allow for a limited looseness and consequent stretching of the stitches. In this event, Fig. 6 may be assumed to diagrammatically represent two joined strips in their unstretched condition, and Fig. fmay likewise represent the strips after they havebeen stretched.

It is apparent that bust sections made in accordance with my invention may be pro duced much more economically than similar devices which are woven in one piece, inasmuch as commercialor staple stock may be employed in the construction of ,my improved garment while 4special machinery is required to producethe one-piece bust section. It isl also apparent that bust sections made in accordance with `my invention are fully as elastic as prior kone-piece bust sec'- tions end .may beas accuratelymade to a desired contour.

I claim 'as my invention j t l. A brassire Vhaving an 'elastic cupshaped bust section composed of a plurality of elastic strips overlapped at their margins throughout their length and joined throughout the length of-their overlapped parts by stitches which. extend through said overlapped pofrtions.' j

2. A brassire having an elastic cupsha-ped bustV sectioncomposed of aY plurality of elastic strips joined at their marginal portionsby lines of lstitches so disposed as to offer no restraint tothe free stretching of said elastic bust section in all directions.I

43. A lbrassire comprising a back section and elastlc bust sect1ons,\sa1d bust sections `each comprising'a plurality of elastic strips overlapped at their margins and joined together attheir overlapped portions by lines of stitches arranged to permit free stretching of the section in the direction of the' lengthv of the said strips.` 4. A brassire having an elastic cupshaped breast lobe supporting section com- G. E. Downs, W. 'L. HALL. 

